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July 1, 2002

U.S. IMMUNIZATION NEWS

"Anti-Vaccination Forces Take Battle Against Inoculation to the Net" St. John's Telegram (CAN) (www.thetelegram.com) (06/29/02) P. B7; Branswell, Helen

In Toronto, pollsters show that 41 percent of Internet-savvy adults seek medical advice from Web sites--a considerable increase from 15 percent two years ago.  There are many Web sites that offer information regarding vaccine safety, including a proliferation of sites that still contain largely unsubstantiated statements accusing vaccines of causing autism and other conditions.  Most rely on information submitted by parents who believe their children were harmed by vaccines, says Dr. Robert Wolfe, the lead author on recent study of these Web sites, recently published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.  Wolfe reports that most of the sites are incredibly inaccurate, very inflammatory, and certainly not based on any scientific data.  Dr. Victor Marchessault of the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario says he sees the impact of the Internet influence as he daily tries to persuade reluctant parents to have their children properly vaccinated.  Part of the problem, experts say, is that the very success of the vaccines themselves means that today's parents have never witnessed the savage effects of a disease, measles for instance, because it has nearly been eradicated in Canada.  As the disease incidence decreases, so does the fear of its possible brain damaging effects.

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